[IC] Machina X Magicae

[Zimocron]

It was a warm Spring day, Owen had moved into the apartment a few days ago. His few things were still in boxes and he only had a small TV and futon. He was on his last applicant, a girl named Mable. She was his last hope for a roommate, she seemed promising from her application, but he couldn't be sure.

He had just heated up a TV dinner when the door knocked. "I'll be there in a second!" He shouted, quickly rushing over to the door in a plain white shirt and khaki shorts. He opened the door with a smile, "Hello! I am Owen, nice to meet you. Come on in. You are Mabel right?"

[spencerishere]

Mable almost felt like covering up her cybernetic arm before arriving at the apartment, but she decided it was best to leave it in full view. She smiled politely and nodded at Owen. "Yeah, I'm here about the tenant opening." She walked inside and looked a little around the place. It wasn't too shabby but definitely not posh. Rent didn't seem like it would be too bad. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything; I think I smell your dinner in the kitchen."

[Zimocron]

/So far, so good/ Owen thought, /She has cybernetics, an arm specifically. I'm glad she is upfront about it/. Owen had had a run in with a Cyborg in the past, but he knew they weren't all like that of course. "There is a seat for you. There isn't much food in the kitchen, I was going to go shopping tomorrow. The bathroom is next to the balcony." His arms gesturing all around the room.

He grabbed the chair he had been using for interviews all day. He asked questions in between bites of his Salisbury steak. "So, tell me more about your self. What is your story?"

[spencerishere]

Mable sat across from Owen and watched as he ate his food. "My story isn't much. I just graduated from Lily-Halt high and I really wanted to go ahead and get my own place before starting college. My Mom's a bit fussy with my arm and stuff, you know? I just got it recently, so I'm getting adjusted to it, but I promise that that won't be a problem. I've had other cybernetic arms in the past, so I know what I'm doing. I also got a job at Johnnny's Kitchen, and I'm very careful with my money, so I'll always make rent and utilities on time." The girl chewed at her lip nervously. Had she rambled too much? She had rambled too much. "What about you?"

[Zimocron]

The Salisbury steaks weren't that bad, the gravy was nothing to write home about certainly. "Good, good. I just graduated from Kyle Martin's a little while ago. I hope me being a magic user isn't too much of a problem. I got a job at the water treatment plant because of my abilities when it comes to water." He spoke with a half smile for the whole time. He put on a face of confidence, he was trying hard to give a good first impression. "My Dad always worried with my magic, so I focused on non dangerous abilities. I don't mind cybernetics, in fact it looks good with you..." Owen turned away, /Probably should be less forward. You are an idiot Owen!/. "Anyway, you seem good. You don't have a criminal record do you? Just have to make sure. Other than that, I think I found my new roommate!" Owen stood up, trying to hide his nervousness with a smile and handshake.

[spencerishere]

Mable grinned widely at Owen and deliberately shook his hand with her biological arm. She wasn't so use to the cybernetics that she could properly control it's superior strength. "No, no criminal history at all. I can get my things and be back tomorrow. Is that okay?"

[Zimocron]

"Okay, sure. Here is your key, see ya tomorrow." He said as he guided her to the door. She left and he was alone again in his apartment, though now he knew he had a roommate arriving tomorrow.

Owen went back over to the futon and laid it back. He crawled under his thin blanket. "She seems pretty nice, not bad looking either. I should keep it more professional, just be friends. I have a few thousand dollars for shopping tomorrow, I probably need to do laundry on Saturday...." He drifted off to sleep thinking about his to-do list.

[spencerishere]

Mable accepted the key and left, her head buzzing. She didn't think getting an apartment would be that easy, but damn had it worked out.

The next morning she gathered what little possessions she had and arrived at the apartment. She checked her watch, hoping it wasn't too early. She kicked lightly at the door, her hands too full to open it herself. "Owen?" She called out. "I'm back!"

[Zimocron]

A steady sleep schedule was the first thing to go when Owen went to college, and it carried over to now. "I'm up, I'm up" He jumped up from his blanket. "You can put your stuff anywhere. I'll go take a shower, then what do you say about going to breakfast?" He was slightly out of breath and a bit embarrassed. He rushed over to his open suitcase grabbed some clothes, and waited for Mable's response before going to take a shower.

[spencerishere]

Mable shoved her boxes into what would be her room and rubbed at her mechanical wrist. Her arm had been gone for a long time now, but sometimes it still pained and ached like it was still there. "I'd love to go for breakfast. You a Denny's or Waffle House kinda guy?"

[Zimocron]

"I would love to go to Denny's. I'll be out in 5" Owen went off to the shower. He hurriedly got ready and walked out in a Black T-shirt and Jeans. "I don't have a car, so we are going to have to walk unless you have one. It is only 10 minutes away." Owen knew this area pretty well and was ready to eat some pancakes and eggs.

[spencerishere]

While Owen was in the shower, Mable started pulling some of her things out and setting them around her room. Once her new roommate was done, they hit the streets and began walking. "So, what're all the neighbors like? Hopefully not noisy."

[Zimocron]

The air was relatively cool, only 73° with a nice breeze. "They aren't too bad. Haven't heard anything from the one downstairs and the upstairs guy is a shut-in. The guy next to us does listen to loud music, but he is pretty nice and turns it down if anyone asks." His neighbors were pretty good, he had really gotten lucky.

They reached the Denny's and were seated pretty quickly, most people went to cafes around this time. The waiter came up to their small table, "I'll have the Blueberry stack with scrambled eggs on the side. No hash browns thank you. And I'll just have a water" He rattled off his order, the same thing he got since he was a kid.

[spencerishere]

Mable glanced over the menu, toying with the frayed plastic edges. "Can I have the texas melt and a sprite? Thanks." The waiter brought back their drinks and she took a sip of her sprite. "What about the landlord? I haven't gotten to meet them yet."

[Zimocron]

"He doesn't really talk ever. I got the appartment, filled out some contracts, and haven't spoken since. Just give the payments to me and I will drop it off." He drank some of his water, eating a cube of ice. "Hey, look at this" Owen made his water start to bubble, the ice sank to the bottom and reemerged as a small ice sculpture of the bridge connecting Tampa and St Petersburg. He placed the bridge on the table in front of Mable, "It won't melt, not unless I make it."

[spencerishere]

Mable watched in fascination. She'd never really been around the magically gifted much, so it was all alien and new. She picked up the small ice bridge with her mechanical hand, careful not to crush it between her metal fingertips. "It's so co--" a waitress walked by and dropped her platter of food to the floor, causing Mable to jump. The little ice bridge crumbled in her iron palm. Water began to drip onto her leg. "Oh, my god, I'm so sorry, Owen!"

[Zimocron]

Owen laughed as he got up. "Don't worry about it too much. It's cool." He worked to try and help clean up the spill. "I'm so sorry!" The waitress scrambled, worried for her job. "Its fine, calm down, it's okay" Owen used his magic to draw the water out of the carpet and placed it back into the cups. "Thank you very much" the waitress said as she ran back into the kitchen.

"Are you okay? None of it hit you, did it?" Owen asked his roommate, his brows furrowed in concern.

[spencerishere]

Mable rubbed at the water stain on her pants. "Nah, I'm fine. The arm is water resistant so I'll be fine." Their food was brought to them and she began to dig it. "You know, little known fact, but many cyborgs don't have to consume as much food if they lack certain body parts, but I still dig in just as much as before I lost my arm."

[Zimocron]

The sweet tang of blueberries flowed through his mouth. Pancakes were a staple of his childhood. "Really? Interesting. I know most magic users are ravenously hungry, using magic is like working out for 30 minutes. I got used to it, especially because my job involves so much magic"

They continued to eat for a few more minutes. One question kept popping up in his mind. "I know we haven't known each other for that long, but what happened to your arm, if you don't mind me asking?" It was very forward and a bit rude to his taste, but his curiosity got the better of him.

[spencerishere]

It wasn't an uncommom question. Cyborgs were still very uncommom, even in big cities. Mable chewed on a piece of bacon before replying. "I burned quite a lot of my arm in a house fire when I was 9, lost the matter all the way up my shoulderblade. I got my arm stuck in a desk drawer after my brother slammed it into one while we were scrambling out." Mable felt a shiver run up her spine, but she surpressed it. She use to quiver in fear each time she thought or spoke about it, but she had gone to therapy for years and had managed to mostly get over it. "But it's okay. I don't hold a judge."